In general, it's best to be kind, but sometimes kindness can be a dangerous enabling practice. For example if you choose to close your eyes to critical situations with a smile on your face, you could be making situations more dangerous and worrisome. A situation where a grandparent simply smiles and doesn't get involved when parents are clearly harming a child, is not kind, but dangerous instead. It's tough to speak up when you see a situation that is dangerous and troubling, but if you do speak up with a combination of kindness and truth, you could greatly improve and save lives.
Yet, sometimes when people model kindness and don't speak up, they can improve a situation simply by their modeling. I'm a fan of authentic kindness, not the kind of kindness that ignores serious situations, but the kind of kindness that tells the truth and responds in kind and truthful ways.
